Friday, 24 April 2009

‘Keeper of Light and Dust’ – Natasha Mostert (Dutton/Transworld)

When it comes to picking the next book to read there are any number of factors that can help me make my mind up. A lot of the time it’s a case of switching between genres, an overdose of fantasy can lead to my trying out some sci-fi or horror. I also try and give publishers fair representation on the blog and this also leads to certain reading choices being made. Sometimes I just think “the hell with it” and pick up the first book I see! When I saw that ‘Keeper of Light and Dust’ was set in South London I just knew I’d be giving it a go as that’s where I’ve been living for the last few years (and very nice it is too). I was sent the American edition and the resulting edits meant that it didn’t feel very ‘South London’ at all; it was still a good read though...

Mia Lockhart is the latest in a long line of ‘Keepers’, a secret clan of women have healed and protected warriors throughout the ages. She practices her craft amongst the boxers and martial artists of South London with no worries other than how her wards will do in the ring. Until now that is... Fighters in peak condition are dying (their hearts coming to a stop days after a big fight) and Mia is about to meet the man behind their deaths, the mysterious ‘Dragonfly, a man who has perfected the art of draining people of their chi so he can stay young forever.When Dragonfly targets the man Mia loves, she must take the fight to him in both the spiritual and physical realms if her love is to survive...

I’ve never quite been able to get my head around talk of ‘chi’, and all the related spiritual stuff, which proved awkward when reading ‘Keeper’ as that is what the whole book is based upon. ‘Keeper’ switches between assuming the reader already has some background knowledge (of both the spiritual and physical aspects of the martial arts scene) and then giving them info-dumps of things they should know. I know nothing about martial arts and the info-dumps had the unfortunate affect of jarring the flow of the plot. In this sense ‘The Keeper of Light and Dust’ (‘The Keeper’ if you’re a UK reader) proved to be an infuriating read as things either went straight over my head or got thrown at me in such detail that I ended up skim reading... If this is the kind of the stuff that you’re into then you’ll get a lot more out of it than I did.

This was a real shame as the plot itself is one that’s easy to get into and not so easy to untangle yourself from. ‘Keeper of Light and Dust’ is one part mystery/ thriller and one part kick ass martial arts fights and there is plenty to get your teeth into. Mostert’s plot is crisp (apart from the info-dumps I’ve already mentioned) and flows along at a good pace. Any questions raised are done at reasonable intervals and this was what kept me going. The blurb gave a little too much away, before I’d started reading, but there was still plenty there to keep me going in the meantime.The fight scenes are superbly choreographed and you can just tell that Mostert is writing these from experience. Some of these scenes were breathtaking and I could feel some of the punches! I also liked the sense of camaraderie that was prevalent in the dojos and gyms. There’s a real ‘warrior’s code’ thing going on here that wouldn’t look out of place in a David Gemmell novel...

The only other thing that really bugged me was a moment that came across as more than a little contrived so that Mia could find out more about the mysterious ‘Dragonfly’. While I can see Mia having her bag locked in the ladies changing room, I found it a little harder to believe that there was a way to the ladies changing room via the gents... And a certain someone happened to be in the shower at the same time... It just felt a little forced to me...

Despite this though. ‘Keeper of Light and Dust’ was fun to read and I’d be interested to see what other people think of both this and her other work. It’s definitely one for fans of martial arts...

Seven and Three Quarters out of Ten

As mentioned (albeit briefly) in the review; if you're in the UK, and looking for a copy of this book, then you need to be looking for 'The Keeper' (not 'Keeper of Light and Dust') as that's what it's called over here.

Good review even I don't like martial arts and my knowledge of "chi" tends to zero. From time to time I like to read reviews about books which are out of my "book radar". That is the way how I got notice of WATCHMEN, THE SHADOW OF THE WIND and other books.

Dude. You're a fantasy reviewer. How come chi and zero point field are above your head? Also I've never heard of anyone skimming a Natasha Mostert novel before. Why read her if you're not interested in ideas?

I've heard of Chi but never really got it... Never heard of zero point field at all, have probably been reading all the wrong books... ;o)

As far as the skim reading goes, I'm all up for new ideas but if I'm having trouble getting my head round them (or if I feel like I'm reading an info-dump that takes away from the flow of the story) then 'skim reading' is my default. It probably shouldn't be but it says something good about the story itself that I would rather finish it than get bogged down in (possibly unnecessary) detail...